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May 29, 2014

Grace Marshall's Executive Decision Tour @GM_Romance #RLFblog #erotic

An Executive Decision

Thanks so much for having me over on Romance Lives Forever for
day 4 of The Executive Decisions Blog Tour.

An Executive Decision, Because It's Complicated

Instead of thinking of erotica and
romance as genres, I prefer to think of them as psychology in story form. The longer
I write stories, the more I believe that it really is all about sex, just like Freud
said. We humans are designed to live in relationship with other humans, and that
gets messy and complicated. First there's chemistry and romance and sex, then we're
off and running with a story that has all the best things and all the worst things
and all the archetypal things that make us human. All those messy complicated, chemistry-riddled
human things may point us in the direction of that most convoluted of paths to the
much-coveted Happily Ever After we all long for, but there's a lot more involved
in actually getting there. There's all the neuroses, all the niggles, all the fears,
frustrations and personal baggage that we all have to overcome on the way. And the
more sexy and complicated and messy it gets on the route to that Happy Ever After,
the bigger the pay-off at the end

I originally wrote An Executive Decision
as a very naughty novella called Learning the Business. The story was based on what
might happen if there really was an Executive Sex Clause between a CEO and his second
in command. The theory is that it would improve productivity, enhance creativity
and reduce stress if busy executives had a source of stress-free, no-strings attached
sex available when they needed it. But what began as just an erotic romp became
a much deeper look into the lives of two complicated, complex characters, Ellison
Thorne and his ambitious protégé, Dee Henning. Both Dee and Ellis are people so
into their work that they have no time for sex. Both are people who are a bit dense
where relationships are concerned. Both are people who feel safe keeping others
at arm's length. And their story wasn't played out in a vacuum. There are family
members, ex lovers, bumbling -- if well-meaning – friends. There are disgruntled
colleagues, there is sabotage, and the threat of environmental crime.

When a series of events drives the
two into each other's arms, the fireworks begins, and the Executive Sex Clause,
which started out as a joke, ends up to be a whole lot more.

As what started out to be a short
erotic tryst grew to be a full-length novel and then into a trilogy, I realized
that it wasn't the kinky Sex Clause that drove the story, but rather Dee and Ellis
with all their quirks and foibles. They were so much more than just two people having
lots of sex in the work place, so much more that a man and a woman falling in love.
Throw in the comedy of errors that ends up letting the Sex Clause cat out of the
bag and that's where things get messy and delicious.

Though my alter-ego, K D Grace, writes very steamy erotica,
she's a romantic at heart. And though I happily and unabashedly write romance, I
like my romance served hot – very hot. I never close the bedroom doors because I
think the pursuit of that relationship deserves to be rewarded in a very carnal
way. Whether I'm writing as K D Grace or Grace Marshall, there will always be lots
of sex because sex is as much a part of who we are as walking upright and having
big brains. In fact having big brains makes the sex a helluva lot more interesting.
It's no longer just about procreation. It's about magic and recreation and le Petit
Mort and rebirth and fireworks and blow your mind, feel-good, and break your heart
feel-terrible. Simply put, it's complicated just like our big brains and our need
for relationship.

An Executive Decision

Overworked CEO Ellison Thorne has no time for sex, let alone
romance. The only answer, at least where his retiring business partner Beverly is
concerned, is a no-strings sex clause in her replacement's contract, designed to
make Ellis' busy life easier – and hotter. But she's joking, right?

When Dee Henning takes over Beverly's
job, sparks fly between her and Ellis, but work takes priority in driven Dee's life too. Can one night of passion in a Paris hotel room prove Beverly's Sex Clause is their secret to success
in the boardroom and the bedroom, and what will happen if that private clause becomes
public knowledge?

About K D Grace/Grace Marshall

Grace and KD both believes Freud was right. In the end, it really
IS all about sex, well sex and love. And nobody's happier about that than she is,
otherwise, what would she write about?

When she's not writing, Grace is veg gardening. When she's not
gardening, she's walking. She walks her stories, and she's serious about it. She
and her husband have walked Coast to Coast across England, along with several other long-distance
routes. For her, inspiration is directly proportionate to how quickly she wears
out a pair of walking boots. She also enjoys martial arts, reading, watching the
birds and anything that gets her outdoors.